The present invention relates to solar concentrators, and more specifically, to a multi-point cooling system for a solar concentrator.
Solar power systems fall generally into two categories: fixed position flat panel systems, and tracking concentrator systems. Fixed position flat panel systems employ one or more stationary panels that are arranged in an area having an unobstructed view of the sun. As the earth rotates, the sun's rays move over the stationary panel(s) with varying degrees of intensity depending upon geographic location, time of day and time of the year. In contrast, solar concentrator systems collect, and focus the sun's rays onto one or more solar cells. Certain solar concentration systems employ tracking systems that follow the sun's path in order to enhance energy collection. Simply put, fixed position flat panel systems represent a passive solar collection system, while solar concentrator systems represent a more active energy collection system.
Solar concentrator systems utilizing photovoltaic cells typically operate at or below about 500 suns concentration. Operating at higher sun concentration levels creates cooling challenges. At present, solar concentrator cooling systems are large unwieldy systems and/or possess limited cooling capacity. Thus, one major constraint that limits solar concentrator systems is the ability to adequately cool the photovoltaic cells.